Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
- Control a character during massive firefights as you eliminate as many Covenant soldiers as possible
- Engage in guerilla warfare against the enemy, using whatever is at your disposal on the station
- Use your tactics skills to command squads and eliminate the enemy
- Role-based team & multiplayer combat with over 25 characters onscreen at a time
- A wide variety of vehicles & locations designed in perfect detail
Bent on humankind’s extermination, a powerful fellowship of alien races known as the Covenant is wiping out the Earth’s fledgling interstellar empire. You and the other surviving defenders of a devastated colony-world make a desperate attempt to lure the alien fleet away from Earth. Shot down and marooned on the ancient ring-world, Halo, you begin a guerilla-war against the Covenant. Fight for humanity against an alien onslaught as you race to uncover the mysteries of Halo.
Halo takes you d
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(out of 1719 reviews)
List Price: $ 9.99
Price: $ 9.99
Halo 2
- Master Chief can now wield two weapons at once, board Covenant vehicles and steal Covenant weapons like the incredible double energy sword
- Lead an all-new unit of super-soldiers, the ODST — tougher, badder and deadlier versions of your old comrades
- New enemies, allies and surprises around every corner – intense combat action with enhanced AI and real-time lighting
- Immense single-player action with maassive landscapes and huge cities to explore and defend – destructible and interactive environments
- Take the action online with your Xbox Live and switch sides, to become a Covenant Elite!
Marketing Information: Halo 2 is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In Halo 2, the saga continues as Master Chief a genetically enhanced super-soldier is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.
Product Information
Software Sub Type: First Person ShooterSoftware Name: Halo 2 – Complete ProductFeatures & Benefits: Single-player:Be the hero. Take on the Covenant on your own and live firsthan
Rating: 
(out of 805 reviews)
List Price: $ 19.99
Price: $ 17.50
Review by VideoGameStr8Story for Halo: Combat Evolved
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Back in the fall of 2001, I didn’t want to play the XBox. I thought that Bill Gates was trying to monopolize my beloved pastime, the holy hobby of video games. So I didn’t play it, that is, until my friend made me play Halo in the Spring of 2002.My mind was instantly changed.Halo is not just another video game, it’s more of an experience that on higher difficulty levels, you don’t just play, you survive. The story is well-planned and well-paced, the weapons are oh-so-cool, the digital surround sound helps to hear behind you (online challengers don’t stand a chance), the music is stirring and epic, and the graphics are simply jaw-dropping. Nothing I’ve played in the past year has put these essential components together quite like Bungie Studios has with Halo. Single player missions are a blast, and you actually feel like you are a super-soldier fighting an alien menace on a strange artificial ring-world in the middle of who-knows-where. But playing by yourself misses the thrill of this game completely.Anyone with broadband access can use GameSpy Arcade, download the necessary components, cheaply purchase extra equipment, and go online to show the world what you are made of. Multiplayer separates the kids from the adults more than any other console game I have EVER played. To survive, you must be strategic, yet ruthless. You must know the levels, know how to hide, know how to shoot accurately, and know how to move effectively. Once you take some time to master these skills, you feel like you’ve accomplished something great…Oh, and if you have friends with copies of Halo, use the biggest room you have to link up 4 XBoxes for 16-player deathmatches (the one catch, every ‘Box has to have its own TV). Trust me, nothing brings friends together like 8-on-8 Team Combat. You run to the shotgun room to take care of the weapons cache, Friend #1 runs to the Rocket Launcher for heavy artillery, Friend #2 takes up a sniper position with Active Camouflage (think Predator), Friend #3 waits at the end of the bridge with Fragmentation Grenades, Friend #4 packs a Plasma Rifle to slow down enemies and destroy their shields, Friends #5 and #6 secure medical packs for the squad, while #7 and #8 go freelance and be bait/avengers. And that’s just an example of the Slayer mode, where the most kills wins. You’ve got King of the Hill modes, Capture the Flag, Oddball (he/team that holds the ball for the longest amount of time wins), Races and more. And it’s not just mindless killing, all these modes require team strategy and underatanding of the playing field terrain. The more you know about where you are, the better off you’ll be when the scores are final.The only way this can get any better is when Halo 2 comes out in 2003. By then, XBox Live (Microsoft’s online game service) will be up to full steam, and who knows what the future could hold (besides the super-cool headset microphones that let you talk to squad members)…If you own an XBox and don’t own this game, shame on you. If you don’t own a ‘Box, buy one for THIS GAME. You’ll thank me later.
Review by eg 123 for Halo: Combat Evolved
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I played Halo in a 16-person multiplayer capture the flag competition at one of Microsoft’s “Xbox Unleashed” parties. I also got to watch a decent player run through a few levels of the single player mode. The biggest issue with any first person shooter on a console is control. Honestly speaking, Halo’s control is just not as good as the classic PC mouse and keyboard setup. And yet, for first person shooters on a console, Halo’s control is a breakthrough. I, and many others around me, were surprised by how easy it was to adjust to Halo’s control scheme. Furthermore, it is highly customizable, you can even adjust the sensitivity of at least one joy stick. I would not be surprised to see claims in the future that Halo’s control is superior to the mouse keyboard combination.Onto the graphics… Evil Empire or not, Microsoft delivered on the graphics in Halo. Halo is a sunny world with bright blue skies complete with drifting clouds. Jutting steel towers hiding vast underground complexes are set against a background of curved landscapes (another words, Halo’s engine does curved surfaces and they are not afraid to show it off). All the character models look and move organically and the vehicles, though somewhat derivative of Star Wars, are very cool. I heard some complaints about frame rate from a guy on the losing team of our little competition, but I thought it played smoothly throughout. Because of the noise at the party, I can’t judge the audio, but I can tell you that the game would be worth it with no sound at all. Halo is packed with features, including, I’m told, new multiplayer game types and all the networking software needed to make hooking up your Xbox to a LAN, or directly to a cable modem, a snap. And last but not least, lets not forget that the fun factor is high, after all you even get to jump into vehicles and mow down everything in your path. Basically, I am willing to go out on a limb and say Halo looks like it will live up to, and maybe exceed, all the hype. Buy an Xbox so you can play this game.
Review by for Halo: Combat Evolved
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All I can say is WOW! Just got my Xbox from preorder this morning and spent most of the day playing Halo. There are so many great things about this game, I hardly know where to begin. First off, even though this is a console FPS (First Person Shooter) the controls are absolute dynamite. I have heard numerous criticisms of the Xbox controller and I can honestly say that I found it to be not only extremely comfortable but also amazingly precise. This game doesn’t make you wish for a keyboard and mouse which is the first console FPS I can really say that about.Second the polish on this game is absolutely top notch. The enemy AI is the best I have ever seen, the graphics are very detailed and smooth, and the game is just all around a blast to play. The single player mode alone is great, but the real fun is the campaign with a buddy co-op mode. My friend and I played this game for four hours straight together and we couldn’t stop playing it was so much fun. The difficulty level is just perfect; challenging but not at all frustrating and because the AI is so good it keeps you coming back since no two encounters are alike.All in all I can’t say enough good things about this game. If you buy and Xbox (and you should) BUY this game.
Review by Maurice Whitfield for Halo: Combat Evolved
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You are the ultimate commando – a cybernetically enhanced soldier representing the peak of human military evolution. You are efficient, skilled, and dangerous. A sci-fi shooter that takes place on a mysterious alien ring-world, Halo will have you battling through amazing indoor and outdoor environments, in vehicles, and on foot with the largest arsenal of futuristic weapons, vehicles, and combat roles of any shooter ever. Your situation: In a desperate attempt to keep a conquering alien race called the Covenant from finding Earth, you and a ragtag group of Marines flee to a distant uncharted system where you unexpectedly stumble across Halo, an enormous alien artifact in orbit between a gas giant and its moon.
Your objective: Uncover Halo’s horrible secret, and destroy mankind’s nemesis – the Covenant.
Here it is, the system seller. Halo lets you infiltrate enemy bases, either with computer AI or with a friend. And not only on foot, but you can also jump in and out of military vehicles on the fly with no load times or pauses. Add to that an incredibly atmospheric and dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, and you have a must buy war fps/vehicular combat game.
Its true that a keyboard and mouse is best for games like these, but if you get used to playing with a gamepad, you will find the game more fun. At first when I played Quake 3 on ps2, it was hard, but after I got used to the controlling, it was easy. Everything seems hard at first, but give it some time and practice and you will see results. If you still cant play with a gamepad then wait till they come out with a keyboard and mouse for xbox. If you seen the movies for this game, you know that its really not only the graphics that make this game good, its the real life physics, animation, sound, story, and A.I. that makes this game so good. * Huge Weapon Variety – Vanquish your enemies with a vast array of Human or Covenant weaponry ranging from the stealthy (semi-automatic pistols and needler guns) to the fierce (rocket launchers and flame throwers). * Vehicle and Foot-Based Action – Tackle missions anyway you choose – be it storming an enemy base or taking the wheel or gunnery position of a variety of powerful vehicles. Vehicles range from stolen Covenant flyers to Human buggies and more. * Indoor and Outdoor Combat – Fight seamlessly in Halo’s ultra-realistic indoor and outdoor environments as you hunt the Covenant in a variety of single player missions and multiplayer battles. * Intense Multiplayer Shoot-outs – Form a team, choose a role, and fight cooperatively with your friends, battle it out Deathmatch style via intense split screen, LAN-play or fight co-op with a friend through the single player missions. * Incredible Mission Variety – Fight the Covenant in a variety of missions as you uncover the dark secrets of halo. Among your many objectives – attack enemy outposts, raid underground labs for advanced technology, rescue fallen comrades, steal alien vehicles and weaponry and snipe enemy forces. * Reality Bending Special Effects – Halo features the most advanced graphic system on the most advanced gaming platform in the world. Gunfire rips off the screen, explosions light up a living room, and environments blur the line between your couch and fantasy. * Rich Sci-Fi Experience – Halo transports gamers into a science fiction universe fresh out of a Hollywood movie. With a detailed twisting story line, complex characters and cunning enemies, Halo will fulfill every sci-fi enthusiastis
Review by Antoinette Klein for Halo: Combat Evolved
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Halo is one of the most graphically impressive games released in videogame history. The attention to detail is excellent. For instance, when using an assault rifle, you can see each clip as it is used. Incredible draw distances, outstanding cutscenes, and marvelous camera work contribute significantly. In respect to audio, Halo outshines the competition. The sound effects are spectacular and the soundtrack is killer. In-game voice acting has never been so good. You can hear your allied marines chatter about the enemy, when they have been hit, where the enemy may be, etc etc. In addition, you can hear the frantic cries of the running enemy when you and your shotgun sneak up on them. Playing this game in Dolby Digital will give the gamer an unsurpassed gaming experience. In actual gameplay, this is where Halo redefines first person shooters. No other console game has gone where Halo goes. Halo is comprised of 10 well-designed, surprisingly large levels, mixing indoor and outdoor environments, to give the gamer an experience which will not soon be forgotten. And this is no normal shooter either. You can play campaign mode single player or with a friend. This is the first game to have a great “co-op” mode. If you can’t beat a level, call a friend and work together. Playing the ‘single-player’ mode with a friend makes the game a far more enjoyable experience. The developers of Halo knew what they were doing when they included vehicles in the game. Throughout the game, you will use a variety of vehicles to help you defeat the enemy. Some are slow but powerful tanks, while others are quick hovercraft. Several of the vehicles allow more than 1 player to get in, thus letting 1 person drive while the other blast the enemy away.However, where Halo really shines is in its multiplayer. With 4 players, 2v2 deathmatches are just a blast. However, with a Cable or DSL connection you will be able to play Halo online! You can play with up to sixteen players in pure madness. Of all the time I spend playing Halo, 90% of it is online. It is just incredible. It takes everything positive about console gaming and pulls the online gaming from traditional PC games to make Halo one of the most enjoyable games ever made.Should you buy Halo? Absolutely! And don’t worry about getting bored anytime soon. With friends and online play, you will be playing this one for months.
Review by Lisa Shea for Halo 2
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I just finished the full walkthrough for Halo 2, as well as played a number of multiplayer games. I’m finally ready with the review of this awesome game!
First off, this is obviously the sequel to the hugely popular initial Halo game. You are Master Chief, a space marine who is sent out to battle the enemies. You are fighting the Covenant, who are your main foes, but you also run into the Flood, who are a space parasite that wants to eat all life. In addition, there are mechanical creatures on Halo who want to kill pretty much anything including the Flood. So each location and creature type has its own look, feel, attitudes and reactions.
The graphics are simply gorgeous, from the rippling water to the clouds in the sky and reflections off of surfaces. I love taking screenshots of this game. The music is also extremely well done, in that the quality is always very high. But it’s a little bizarre to be going from new age lilting softness in one heated battle to high intensity rock music in another and so on. It doesn’t necessary track to the location you’re in, either. It’s just whatever the designers felt like putting in.
The gameplay and plot is where this game really shines. Your characters that interact with you are simply BRILLIANT in how they each do what a real live creature would do. Grunts are my favorite – these little Covenant front-liners are brave and talkative when they’re in groups, but when you whittle them down they suddenly turn and flee, shrieking at the top of their lungs. Your teammates leap into vehicles with you, either driving or shooting depending on your preference. They’ll come alongside you to give you support, and duck for cover when appropriate.
The quips the characters come out with mid-battle still make me laugh out loud. In one sequence you are the covenant Arbitor and are working your way through a room. You come across a pair of grunts and a jackal under attack, and take out the enemies. The grunt comes running to you in glee, shouting, “Arbitor! My savior!” Then he pauses and adds, “Jackal, say thank you to the Arbitor!”
The cut scenes are equally as brilliant and are truly movie quality in the interactions. The timing, dialogue, everything is great. The little touches are everywhere. In one sequence, the Sergeant is preparing his troops to get ejected in pods down to the surface of Halo. He walks past the Master Chief’s pod and thumps twice on it, as if to say “All OK in there, ready to go?” Right on beat, you see Master Chief inside his pod, thumping once back in response. You really forget that these are just computer generated characters.
Multiplayer is the stellar addition to this release and there are reasons to be thrilled. You can play on a large variety of maps, in a number of styles, and there is even going to be downloadable content in the future.
That all being said, there are of course a few non-stellar aspects to this release. First, the ending SUCKS. The first one was bad enough with its “Oh I bet there is another Halo out there” so you don’t even feel like you really saved the world. In this one, not only is it not a “you’re done but it’s not over” ending – it’s pretty much cut off mid-battle! That is INCREDIBLY frustrating for a gameplayer. Obviously they want you to buy Halo 3, but that’s going to be a year or two away. Can’t we have some satisfaction in the meantime?
Next, the game is really short, even on normal mode. We had a friend start the game up Sunday morning at about 12:30 and he was done with the entire game by around 8. You can have fun replaying it on the harder levels, but that’s a rather quick game.
Finally, the multiplayer, while brilliant in concept, is lacking in implementation right now. There are two general ways to play – either you set up a game yourself for friends ONLY, or you launch into the ether to play a quick match. If you get up your own game you can control all the settings, but you can only invites people on your friends list. That limits the chances of having a full game unless you are VERY proactive in seeking friends. The quick match game only lets you make a few choices, and then in essence you are auto-connected with other people who are also actively seeking those game types. You can’t browse or look. You just say “I want to play X type of game” and then you wait – literally for 5 minutes or more sometimes – as the servers gather together other people who are also actively seeking that game type. Then the game auto launches without you even knowing who is on your team or if you want to play with them. It’s very frustrating to people who are used to the more customizeable lobby situations.
Still, the online experience can always be tweaked going forward, and the base gameplay is amazingly good. I highly recommend the game to anyone who enjoys shooting / strategy games – but you might want to rent it for a week first, to see if what it offers to you after that point is going to keep you playing.
Review by a gamer for Halo 2
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I loved the original Halo. It had everything I wanted in a game. Good graphics, excellent story, and lots of action.
Halo 2 is essentially its predecessor, except better. I know that sounds unlikely, but the few things that I didn’t like about the original game such as bad Marine AI and monotonous maps are gone in this version.
For example, I was playing last night, and I was on the second level where you and a team of Marines are going through an African city killing everything. A Marine in front of me gets killed as soon as he rounds a corner. Instead of charging ahead, the rest of the squad hugs the wall. So, I swap my sniper rifle for Sarge’s auto rifle (another kickass feature, you can swap guns with marines). Since the Marines are better shots, Sarge charges ahead and takes out the Covenant sniper. The marines and I then charge ahead and waste the covenant.
Here is a summary of cons and pros about the game.
PROS: Marines are much, much more intelligent.
You can swap guns with marines.
marines can drive vehicles on their own now.
the flood return
AH TOO MANY TO LIST CANT LIST THEM ALL
Cons: The only bad things I noticed so far were some minor graphial glitches, such as guns and vehicles sticking through walls. Also, every time it loads a charecter in a cutscene, a milisecond later the game seems to “draw” the person. It is kind of wierd looking, but in no way hurts the game.
If you are into a good sci-fi story or lots of action get this game. Also, Halo 1 fans wont be dissapointed, all changes were for the better.
Review by Billy for Halo 2
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GREAT GAME.
GRAPHICS: The Graphics have greatly improved since the original Halo. The bump-mapping has done a great deal for the game. Throw a plasma grenade on the ground and watch the lighting effects.
10/10
SOUND: I love the sound in this game, great music, and great sound effects. My only complaint is that the warthog sounds less “scary” and the smgs sound more like fully-auto cap guns instead of real guns. but other than that the sound is great.
9.7/10
GAMEPLAY: FUN! I love the new addition of dual weilding. I also like the way that you can board and enemy vehicle. These are just a couple of the many things that have greatly added to the already fun gameplay of HALO.
10/10
STORY (no spoilers): Good story. There have been many complaints about the ending…but I thought the story was very immersive. I loved it. Although the ending was SLIGHTLY dissapointing.
9.8/10
MULTIPLAYER: In Halo this was one of the main attractions. In Halo 2 multiplayer could have made a game. Its incredibly fun and addicting. Now with the new addition of LIVE you can play with new or old friends while on completely different continents. Multiplayer is what helped make this game what it is…a great game.
10/10
VALUE: Definatly a game that will keep you occupied for years.
10/10
OVERALL: Halo 2 leaves me completely breathless…well, it leaves me with enough breath to say “DAMN!”
SCORE:9.9
Review by DawgPwnd for Halo 2
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Okay first things first. This game is better than the original Halo by far, and being a huge PS2 gamer, I must admit this game blows away any FPS game for the PS2; the only game that will give this a challenge is TimeSplitters: Future Perfect.
The graphics are a 9.7/10. The reason it’s not a full 10 is because of some minor glitches were you sometimes walk up to a wall and the gun goes into the wall, but it doesn’t have any effect on the actual gameplay.
As for sound, that is a 10/10 hands down. The explosions, gun fires, even walking through water or on rocks is crystal clear and sounds like you’re actually there, especially with surround sound.
Now for what most of you probably will read this for…the gameplay. Okay, for the first person mode, the game doesn’t last too long (about 10 hours should get it done), but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good game. There are several difficulty levels to make the game more challenging than the time before. The gun selection is decent, however new to Halo 2 is the ability to hold 2 guns at the same time (one in each hand unless it’s a sniper, assault rifle, or missle launcher that requires both hands to hold) and with the L and R buttons, respectively, you can shoot either gun when you want. There’s also a few twists in the story line that make the game a little more interesting, yet it seems to end a little prematurely.
As for multiplayer (multiplayer as in with friends either on one X Box or with system link–I’ve yet to try X Box Live), it is, handsdown, the best I’ve seen (beating out Counter Strike for PC). You can customize your character in several aspects, making you unique from anyone else. There are, if I can remember, about 20 multiplayer maps each with their own cool feel. Vehicles are back and there’s more!! About half of the levels are capable of having tanks and other vehicles, which make this game blow by the rest. You can customize what vehicles you want to be in a certain level. There are two types, basically the smaller vehicles and the bigger ones. You can have a Scorpion Tank in the level, and at the same time have 2 smaller vehicles like a Banshee (which flies) and a Ghost (which is IMO the best small vehicle). The only downside is that there are only 2 big vehicles to use, but the way you customize the levels with each one makes the game never get boring! The gun selection is pretty good, and most of the guns return from the original Halo but have been modified (either they look a little different or have heat-seeking ammunition).
Multiplayer is easily the best mode (they have the jeep-like vehicle back-Warhog-which one person can be in the back shooting the machine gun while the other is driving). The game modes are pretty much the same, except they are named differently, but they did add a few more. Team matches (capture the flag, slayer-kill the other team-) are back and are probably the best way to play multiplayer. There really isn’t anything I can say to put the game down, being such a huge PS2 fan. I was really impressed with this game, and as much as I hate to say it (it feels like being a Red Sox fan then becoming a Yankee fan) I think I’m going to buy an X Box just for Halo 2…it’s really THAT amazing. (I’m a Sox fan btw-2004!!)
If you want my honest opinion, aka you don’t want to read all of what I’ve written above, you really don’t need to rent this game. Go ahead and reserve it while you can and buy it – you definitely won’t regret it even if you only remotely like FPS games. Graphics were overall astounding, sound was incredibly clear, and the gameplay is easily a 10/10 whether it’s single player action or multiplayer. If you want a really good (actually the BEST FPS game) multiplayer game to play with friends on the weekends or during parties, this is easily a must have. No question.
Review by G. Watkins for Halo 2
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The game is really fun, but you’ll be through it quickly. My guess is that in actual play time, from start to finish, this game is less than half the length of the original Halo. I feel that many loyal fans of Halo will feel betrayed by this undersized sequel.